Vgx stock re finishing

Hi everyone, i purchased a fine vanguard vgx .243 the stock has a few marks thought i would strip and re finish but the paint stripper wont even begin to affect the gloss clear finish, amazing.I was wondering what the gloss product is they used and any way to strip back, mechanical sanding would likely ruin it and paint stripping did nothing, do i have any other options, heat gun maybe but thats a bit harsh, cheers.

Yes your both correct but the painter in me cant let it go, i spend my life trying to make things look good (dont become a painter lol) I will probably sand it all back and re finish, i will just feel more inner pride if i do. Beautiful rifle amazing finish whatever it is.

I refinished an early model Remington 700 BDL which had the Dupont RKW finish, probably the toughest finished ever applied to a wood stock. I believe the VGX models used a high gloss poly finish which is also very tough to remove.

My advice is to use an industrial grade gel aircraft paint remover which can be purchased at most auto parts stores. Paint thinners and other non-commercial finish removers will barely touch the surface of hard finishes. Even using a commercial grade aircraft paint remover will require several coats and a lot of elbow grease using a plastic putty knife and sanding.

That stock looks bad. You have to remove old gloss with a thinner products like used for removing car paints. Sand and sand very much until wood became as a baby ass. If wood became very clear you could use some nogal tincture for wood. Then use billant lak product with a spray machine or handwork making a little doll with cotton envolved in a fine or soft cloth wet in thinner. Caressly, touch the wood making eigths and ceros to cover all surface a few times. Between each times with an abrassive and very fine steel wool try to turn an opaque view and finally make a polishment with machine or handly. Last mentioned way is better for me. It has to looks artistic.Be fineJuan, from Argentina

Thanks for the replies, will try and seek out some industrial grade stripper.Just wondering how the butt pad is fitted, it would be best to get it off to do this is it glued on?

Leave the recoil pad on, just tape it up with a couple of layers of blue painters tape, Rub your finger along the edge of it until it gets hot but don't burn through it. That will melt the glue and create a good seal. I would not mess with strippers, just tape off your checkering and sand it with 80 grit until you get to wood then work your way up to 320 grit.

For your finish, start with bar top polymer thinned 50% and apply it with a lint free cloth. Once it dries wet sand it with 400 grit wet/dry sandpaper and water. You just want to break the surface. Continue to apply coats and sand until you no longer see grain pores when sanding. My last stock took 10 coats so patience is a must.

For your final finish, nothing beats boiled linseed oil. It can take 72 hours to dry and I scuff it lightly with 0000 steel wool to flatten it out. You just keep repeating the process until you get the depth you want.

That's how it should be done but most people opt out for the easier method. Which is to use Helmsman Spar Urethane in the spray can that you can get at either Home Depot or Lowes. You apply 10 light coats allowing a 1 hour dry time until the last coat then let it dry 24 hours and wet sand with 800 grit. You keep doing that until all he pores are filled to your satisfaction and then apply 3 normal coats and you're done. Leave the tape on the checkering until the last coat so you don't fill it in with finish.

The pictures below are of one that was done with the Helmsman Spar Urethane. It was final sanded to 1500 w/d and then polished with rotten stone and oil.

As a side note: The white spacers and grip cap should be finished with the Urethane also. Spar Urethane has a slight yellow tone and the white spacers should be toned yellow not bright white like they will be when you remove the finish.

Welcome to the Weatherby Nation Cazna. I came across a product that I hadn't heard of before, and it looks like something that might be a useful item for stripping the finish on your stock. It may work on a lot of projects, I just don't know how rough it may leave the wood surface. I imagine 0000 steal wool could smooth out finishing touches, anyway here's the short video that got my interest.